His death was fincerely regretted by the city, to which he had been fo long, and fo great a benefactor. The day after he died, the Mayor of Bath called the corporation together, where they granted fifty pounds towards burying their Sovereign with proper respect. After the corpfe had lain four days, it was conveyed to the abbey church in that city, with a folemnity fomewhat peculiar to his character. About five the proceffion moved from his houfe; the charity girls two and two preceded, next the boys of the charity school finging a folemn occafional hymn *. Next marched the city mufic,

The HYMN fung at his Funeral.

I.

Moft unhappy are we here,

Full of fin and full of fear,

Ever weary, ne'er at reft,

When, O Lord, fhall we be bleft;

II.

Earth's a clog, a pageant life,

Fill'd with folly, guilt and ftrife;

mufic, and his own band founding at proper intervals a dirge. Three clergymen immediately preceded the coffin, which was adorned with fable plumes, and the pall supported by the fix senior Aldermen. The mafters of the affembly-rooms followed as chief mourners; the beadles of that hofpital, which he had contributed fo largely to endow, went next, and laft of all, the poor patients themselves,

the lame, the emaciated, and the feeble,

followed their old benefactor to his

grave, fhedding unfeigned tears, and lamenting themselves in him.

The crowd was fo great, that not only the streets were filled, but, as one of the journals in a Rant expreffes it," even the

tops of the houses were covered with fpectators, each thought the occafion af"fected themselves moft; as when a real " King dies, they afked each other, where Shall we find fuch another; forrow fate up" on every face, and even children lifped "that their Sovereign was no more. "awfulness of the folemnity made the

The

deepest impreffion on the minds of the "diftreffed inhabitants. The peasant dif"continued his toil, the ox rested from "the plough, all nature feemed to fympathize with their lofs, and the muffled "bells rung a peal of Bob Major.”

Our deepest folemnities have fomething truly ridiculous in them: there is somewhat ludicrous in the folly of historians, who thus declaim upon the death of

Kings and Princes, as if there was any thing dismal, or any thing unusual in it. "For my part, fays Poggi the Florentine, I can no more grieve for another's death than I could for my own. I have ever regarded death as a very trifling affair; nor can black ftaves, long cloaks, or mourning coaches, in the least influence my fpirits. Let us live here as long, and as merrily as we can, and when we must die, why let us die merrily too, but die fo as to be happy."

The few things he was poffeffed of were left to his relations. A fmall li

brary of well chofen books, fome trinkets and pictures, were his only inheritance. Among the latter were a gold box, given by the late Countefs of Burlington, with Lady Eufton's picture in the lid.

An

agate etui, with a diamond on the top, by the Princefs Dowager of Wales, and fome other things of no great value. The rings, watches, and pictures, which he formerly received from others, would have come to a confiderable amount; but thefe his neceffities had obliged him to difpofe of: Some N 2 family

family pictures, however, remained, which were fold by advertisement, for five guineas each, after Mr. Nafh's decease. It was natural to expect, that the death of a perfon fo long in the eye of the public, must have produced a defire in feveral to delineate his character, or deplore his lofs. He was scarce dead, when the public papers were filled with elegies, groans and characters; and before he was buried, there were epitaphs ready made to infcribe on his ftone. I remember one of those character writers, and a very grave one too, after observing, alafs! that Richard Nafh, Efq; was no more, went on to affure us, that he was fagacious, debonair, and comode; and concluded with gravely declaring, that impotent pofterity would in vain fumble to produce his fellow. Another, equally forrowful, gave us to know, that he was indeed a man; an affertion, which I fancy none will be fo hardy as to contradict. But the merriest of all the lamen→ tations made upon this occafion was, that where he is called, A conftellation of the beavenly Sphere.

One